From pulpit to cockpit

Beginning June 1, a Lutheran Church–Canada pastor will make the transition from parish pastor to pilot for an organization focused on bringing the Gospel to First Nations people in northern Canada.

Rev. Bill Ney, currently senior pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Stony Plain, Alberta has accepted God’s call to join the staff of Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP) as a pastor-pilot and the Director of Ministries.

A licensed single-engine aircraft pilot, he brings to the organization not only a wealth of experience after more than 25 years of parish ministry in Canada and the United States, but also involvement in ministry to the church-at-large. Pastor Ney has served on numerous boards in various districts, including the Michigan and Ontario District of the LCMS, Lutheran Church-Canada (LCC), and the Alberta-British Columbia (ABC) District of LCC. He currently serves as chairman of LCC’s Commission on Constitution and Structural Matters.

“I have a clear view of its mission: to bring the love of God in Christ Jesus to the people of northern Canada,” Pastor Ney wrote in the most recent edition of The LAMPLighter. “I am very much looking forward to working with the LAMP staff, both in Canada and the United States, as together we seek the support of thousands more Christians.”

Rev. Ney has been a strong supporter of LAMP since its inception in 1970, and served on LAMP’s Board of Directors for 10 years. He says his desire is that through LAMP, “…the Gospel of Jesus Christ might continue to be shared with the people whom God loves dearly in the North.”